Ocean Moods

How many times can I write about the WA Coast, especially the Westport/Grayland area? It doesn't take long to realize that the ocean is never the same. You have wave height, frequency, shape, tide, bottom topography, wind & direction, just to name a few of the variables. I’m not a statistician but the possible results seem endless.

This was a father, son weekend with Isaac accompanying me, and after our morning surf session, he said, “It seemed slower today…I mean the rides seemed, I don’t know, softer.” I then showed him the NOAA marine forecast, pointing out the wave period of 7 seconds. That in turn launched a discussion, with the corresponding sine wave chart drawn in the sand, of period vs. mass vs. energy. I thought it a good physics lesson for a senior in High School.

When we had arrived Friday evening the wind, out of the NW, was blowing a steady BFT-5, and it was a bit unbalancing to have such high wind, but only head height waves. The high winds had the beach looking like a miniature movie set for a film on the Sahara complete with drifting sands and wave after wave of dunes. As I laid on my belly to get a shot of a precariously perched sand-dollar on a pillar of sand, I expected to see a camel caravan making it way to the Skeleton Coast.

The next morning, as we readied the gear, the wind had died to BFT-4 and got progressively lighter throughout the day. It was overcast, but the sun would make an occasional appearance, just enough to lend some warmth and renew the spirit. We spent the entire day making run after run and by the time we returned to the yurt I was pleasantly exhausted.

To top off an already great day, just as we were starting the grill, the western sky exploded in the most intense oranges, and reds I’ve every seen during a sunset.

How many times can I write about our coastline? With so much to offer about as many times as the ocean has moods.